Bible Speed Search and Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament

| Wed, April 9, 2008 | Products, Training

First, a teaser. Here’s where we’re going:


Mixing syntactic force and lemmas in a Bible Speed Search?!

[Maybe you just want to cut to the chase and watch the video instead of read. That’s fine, go right ahead! — RB]
The Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament comes with two primary views. One is the Syntax Graph, (formal title: The Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament: Sentence Analysis; shortname is LEXHAMSGNTGRAPH) where the text is in a column on the right, and a graph of arrows and lines shows how the text is structured. Hovering the text brings the Expansions and Annotations data for the word into a popup. If you use the Lexham SGNT, this is probably the view you’re most familiar with.
However, there’s another view, one I like to call the “running text” view. This has the text of the Greek New Testament (UBS/NA) but it has one clause on each line, with indentations to show the relationships. This view is also an interlinear. The resource is The Lexham Syntactic Greek New Testament, shortname is LEXHAMSGNT. Here’s an example, note that I have my interlinear configured to only show the Greek text and the English gloss line (you can control this in View | Interlinear).


James 3 from the Lexham SGNT

Now, what not many people know about this edition of the Lexham SGNT is that it is tagged for Syntactic Force. This is what many people refer to as “syntax” when they talk about the Greek of the New Testament, and it is the sort of thing that many second-year programs at seminaries and colleges dig into. You can see the clause and phrase breaks and the hierarchy implied by indentation; what you can’t see is that each word carries a syntactic force annotation. So, in the above example, when I hover over ειδοτες, a popup informs me that this could be either a circumstantial participle or an adverbial participle. Definitions of these terms are given as well.


ειδοτες in James 3.1 from the Lexham SGNT

Did you know that you can search for this kind of thing using the Bible Speed Search report? It’s a little verbose, but possible: sgnt-syn = “circumstantial participle” andequals lemma:οιδα In the material covered by the Lexham SGNT, this happens 10 times (I know because I just did the search).
This is just one example; I made a video that explains things a little more. This combines a few different advanced concepts: non-Bible data type searching, the andequals operator (also note the notequals operator) and using the lemma field. But it allows you to find some pretty specific things. Like, copulative conjunctions that aren’t και.

To further facilitate this kind of searching, I’ve also compiled a list of valid syntactic force codes that you can key into the Bible Speed Search dialog. So, instead of having to type “circumstantial participle”, you’d know you could instead type “ptc-circum”. You can download this file (PDF); hopefully it’ll help in your use of the Lexham SGNT.
Lastly, I should note that the Lexham SGNT is a work in progress; at present it includes annotations of Romans-Galatians and Hebrews through Revelation. If you find annotations that you don’t agree with or would like to suggest alternate annotations, we want to know about it. Send an email to syntax@logos.com and we’ll make sure it gets to the editor.

Doing Things Faster with the Keyboard, Part 2

| Tue, April 8, 2008 | Training

In yesterday’s blog post I talked about how using keyboard shortcuts can make work in Libronix faster than using just a mouse. The post was triggered by an interaction that I had with a friend who was adjusting to Logos after years as a user of another Bible software program.

One of the other things that he said he missed in Logos was a command line. This is where the Quick Navigation Bar (a.k.a. Go Box) comes in handy. The Quick Navigate Bar is a toolbar that comes with the free Power Tools Addin (read about or watch how to download it). Here’s what it looks like.


The Quick Navigate Bar

It should appear in your toolbar area, which by default is at the top of your screen. If you don’t see it and have the Power Tools Addin installed, make sure to activate it by right clicking in the toolbar area and checking the box next to Quick Navigate Bar.


Toolbar Menu

Since we’re talking about saving time with the keyboard, the first thing you’ll want to know is that to activate the Go Box and be able to start typing in it, you’ll want to use Ctrl+Shift+G. If your hands are already on the keyboard, this is quicker than reaching for the mouse and clicking the box.

So what can you actually do with this box?

Its most basic use is to jump to a passage of Scripture in your default Bible (which you can set on the home page or in Tools > Options > Keylink > Keylinking > Bible). Type in any standard Bible reference, and your preferred Bible will open instantly. References like John 3:16, Jn 3.16, Jn 3 16 will all work.

You can also use it to open up various Bible translations. By typing ESV or NIV and hitting enter, the appropriate Bible version will open. Hit tab (which activates the reference box in the newly opened resource) and type in a reference to jump to a particular location. Most of the standard abbreviations for Bible versions will work.

The Quick Navigation Bar also recognizes some of the standard commentary series abbreviations like WBC, PNTC, NIGTC, and K&D. You can type in the full titles like Preaching the Word or New American Commentary or portions of titles like Pulpit and Lange’s.

You can use it to open other essential tools like BDAG (by typing bdag), HALOT (by typing hal or halot), Anchor Yale Bible Dictionary (by typing anchor), ISBE (by typing isbe), and many others.

The guaranteed identifier for each resource is the file name minus the extension. So, to open up MacArthur’s commentary on 1 Corinthians, you would type 1comntc. You can find this information by viewing About This Resource, which is available in the right-click menu in My Library or in the Help menu (with the resource opened and selected). Taking the time to look these up and memorize them will probably be worth the time investment if you frequently open certain resources. Or you might prefer, as I do, to simply create keyboard shortcuts.

While some things are faster with the mouse, others are faster with the keyboard. It’s best to get in the habit of using both for the things they do best. Give some of these tips a try and see if using the Go Box doesn’t speed up some of the common tasks you perform in Libronix.

For more on the Go Box, check out these two previous posts:

See also part 1.

Doing Things Faster with the Keyboard, Part 1

| Mon, April 7, 2008 | Training

A friend of mine has been a longtime user of another Bible software program, but now he’s using Logos as well. As you might expect, he still feels more comfortable performing certain tasks in his other program. One of the things he mentioned to me that he missed in Logos was the ability to use keyboard shortcuts. He felt like having to use the mouse for everything made for slow work.

As one who is convinced of the value of keyboard shortcuts, I was happy to inform him that you can actually do quite a bit in Logos with keyboard shortcuts. I pointed him to our list of standard keyboard shortcuts (which I just updated to include a few more) and to a blog post I wrote several months ago, where I explained how to set up your own custom keyboard shortcuts for opening books you use frequently and applying visual markups like basic highlighting.

I open books and highlight with my keyboard shortcuts all the time, but there’s so much more that you can do. You can create custom keyboard shortcuts for just about any function in Libronix by using a custom toolbar, which I explain in the earlier post.

Here are some examples of the types of things you can do: view About This Resource with Alt+A, toggle the contents pane for your current resource with Alt+C, report a typo with Alt+T, open the Passage Guide with Alt+P, the Exegetical Guide with Alt+X, and the Bible Word Study with Alt+W.

Here are the things I currently have assigned in my keyboard shortcuts toolbar. (I have other keyboard shortcuts assigned in my primary custom toolbar.)

Feel free to download it and use it or modify it you’d like. Put it in \My Documents\Libronix DLS\CustomToolbars. Two suggestions for enhancing the usefulness of this toolbar: you may want to set up (1) parallel resource associations for things like Bible dictionaries, English dictionaries, English Bibles, Greek lexicons, and study Bibles, which will allow you to jump quickly to similar resources, and (2) serial resource associations for (a) any commentaries that don’t already have one (e.g., JPSTC) and (b) your original language texts, if you want your Greek NT and Hebrew OT connected.

There are two things to be aware of when creating custom keyboard shortcuts. First, your key combination might not be available. If your shortcut doesn’t seem to be working or works but does the wrong function, this is probably why. Second, your key combination might be overriding default behavior. Test your keyboard shortcut before assigning it. You might like the default behavior even better! :)

Next up, part 2 on using the Quick Navigation Bar.

What’s New in the Spanish Department?

| Fri, April 4, 2008 | Products

It’s been a while since the last blog post on the Spanish department, so it’s about time to fill you in on some of what’s been going on. Our Spanish team is hard at work creating great new products and spreading the word to the Spanish-speaking world about how Software Bíblico Logos can help them do better Bible study. And there are some really exciting things coming down the pike!

Equipping Pastors

We are thrilled to watch Software Bíblico Logos meet a massive need, particularly among Hispanic pastors. The average Hispanic pastor has a library of fewer than 30 books, has to work a secular job, and has not had the privilege of seminary education. Logos equips pastors like these with a library that is often several times the size of their print libraries. It’s portability, affordability, and efficiency make it the perfect solution for the pastor working two jobs. And having a "seminary library in a box"—as some refer to it—is the next best thing to actually going to seminary.

We currently have three Spanish base collections. The top end package, Bilioteca Academica Bilingue (Academic Bilingual Library), contains 213 volumes and is the best seller in the United States, where many pastors know enough English to benefit from some English resources. The middle package, Biblioteca Pastoral (Pastor’s Library), has only Spanish resources and is the most popular collection in the rest of the Spanish-speaking world. The third base collection, Biblioteca de Estudio Biblico (Bible Study Library), is an introductory collection of essential resources. There are also some great add-on collections like the Biblioteca Digital de la Misión (Missions Digital Library) and the Comentario Bíblico del Continente Nuevo (New Continental Bible Commentary).

New Products

And Software Bíblico Logos just keeps getting better. The entire checkout process at https://www.logos.com/es is now in Spanish, making it much easier for users who don’t know English to order software online. There’s also the new Video de Instrucción Avanzada: Cómo estudiar un pasaje bíblico, an advanced training videos CD, which pastors are finding very helpful. The Addin Archivero de Sermones (Sermon File Addin) is also now available in Spanish.

Coming Soon 

First, Teología concisa, the Spanish translation of J. I. Packer’s Concise Theology, is now on Pre-Pub. There are also several other exciting projects in the works. A couple are too top secret to mention, but I can tell you about one of them. There really is no cross-referencing tool in Spanish comparable to something like the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge—at least not yet. Guillermo Powell, who heads up our Spanish department, is leading a team of 18 native Spanish speakers who have a good command of English in creating a Spanish translation of the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge using the Reina Valera as the base text. Having a resource like this will a be great addition to the Passage Guide and tremendous help to pastors and Bible students as they interpret the meaning of Scripture. We’re excited about being able to provide such an essential tool.

Our Mission

As we say in our mission statement, we see it as "our responsibility to ensure that the investment in technology we can afford to make because we serve the western church pays dividends for the whole world." And you’re a huge part in helping us fulfill that mission. When you purchase software from us, you are not only buying a useful tool for yourself, but you are also helping to make possible the creation of products in smaller, foreign-language markets around the world.

Ways to Help

With the growing Hispanic population in the United States, new Hispanic ministries are starting all the time—from Bible studies, to ministries within English-speaking churches, to new church plants. If you have a Spanish-speaking ministry at your church or are aware of one in your area, please let them know about Software Bíblico Logos. You can also help us spread the word by linking to https://www.logos.com/es with the word “biblia” in the anchor text.

Talking about What I Am Talking About

| Thu, April 3, 2008 | Products

Today’s guest post is from Dr. Steve Runge, a scholar-in-residence at Logos Bible Software, whose work focuses on the discourse grammar of Hebrew and Greek.

We do not often take much time to think about how and why we say things the way we do. We tend to just do ‘what seems right’ in the context. Studying how and why we use language has helped me not only be a better English speaker, but has opened doors into studying the Bible in ways that I never thought possible. Two of the latest Pre-Pubs, the Lexham High Definition New Testament and the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament, allow you to have access to these insights that have so changed how I read and study Scripture. I want to introduce another concept that is included in both resources, and let you see the practical difference it can make in your Bible study.

If you have read many blogs, you may have noticed that sometimes the comments about the blog ending up shifting to comments about the comments. This has come to be known as a ‘meta-comment’. We use meta-comments all the time in our speech, too. Each time we stop saying what we want to say, and start talking about what we are going to say, we are making meta-comments. Take a look at the following examples and see what a difference the added meta-comments make.

  1. Your opinion is very important to me.

    versus

  2. I really want you to know that your opinion is very important to me.

    or
  3. Don’t you know that your opinion is very important to me?

    or
  4. I am going to speak slowly and use small words: your opinion is very important to me.

    or
  5. Now you listen here, your opinion is very important to me.

    or
  6. I want you to get it though your thick skull that your opinion is very important to me.

    or
  7. You may never have guessed this, but your opinion is very important to me.

    or
  8. I cannot emphasize enough that your opinion is very important to me.

Do any of the meta-comments added in options 2-8 ring a bell for you? Think about the contexts that you might hear them in. When we stop saying what we want to say and start talking about what we are going to say, it is because what follows is either surprising or important. But English is not the only language that uses meta-comments. Even ancient Greek and Hebrew show the use of meta-comments, and they are found in very similar contexts as in our spoken English. There are literally hundreds of instances of meta-comments in the New Testament, but few commentators draw our attention to them and what they are doing. The primary purpose of the Lexham High Definition New Testament and the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament is to help you find important devices like meta-comments that the NT writers used to draw our attention to something that they felt was important. Here are just a few examples.

One of the most common meta-comments used by Jesus in Matthew’s gospel is ‘I say to you’. Not every instance is a meta-comment, only the ones where Jesus has stopped saying what he is saying and is talking about what he is about to say. Here are the instances from the Sermon on the Mount:

“For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass away from the Law, until all is accomplished." —Matt 5:18

“For I say to you, that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter the kingdom of heaven." —Matt 5:20

“Truly I say to you, you shall not come out of there, until you have paid up the last cent." —Matt 5:26

“But I say to you, do not resist him who is evil; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also." —Matt 5:39

“When therefore you give alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." —Matt 6:2

“And when you pray, you are not to be as the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners, in order to be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." —Matt 6:5

“And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men. Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full." —Matt 6:16

“For this reason I say to you, do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor for your body, as to what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body than clothing?" —Matt 6:25

“Yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these." —Matt 6:29

If you look at the ideas and statements that immediately follow the meta-comments, you will see that these are Jesus’ key principles or conclusions. They communicate the point that he is trying to make in that section of his teaching. In 5:18, he has just stated that he did not come to abolish the law or the Prophets, but to fulfill them. Verse 18 reinforces this by the declaration that not even the smallest jot or tittle of the law will pass away until it is all accomplished. Notice also that some of the examples include ‘truly’, which functions as another attention-getting device to draw the reader’s attention to something important that follows.

In 5:26, Jesus is drawing his conclusion about the need to be reconciled with your neighbor or opponent. In 5:29, he focuses on the need not to seek revenge, giving the surprising command not to resist him who is evil but to turn to him the other cheek. In both cases, Jesus includes a meta-comment for the same kinds of reasons we do in English today: to draw people’s attention to something surprising or important that follows.

Meta-comments represent the writer’s or speaker’s choice to add an optional device to help direct the reader’s attention to something surprising or important. Jesus could have just as easily made the same statements without the meta-comment, just as I did in option 1 above.

“For until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter . . . ” —Matt 5:18

“For unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees . . . ” —Matt 5:20

“You shall not come out of there, until you have paid up the last cent.” —Matt 5:26

“Do not resist him who is evil . . . ” —Matt 5:39

“They have their reward in full.” —Matt 6:2, 5, 16

“Do not be anxious for your life, as to what you shall eat . . .” —Matt 6:25

“Even Solomon in all his glory did not clothe himself like one of these.” —Matt 6:29

Now before you go out and try this at home, you need to know that not every instance of ‘I say to you’ plays the role of a meta-comment. If you were to do a speed search for ‘I say to you’, you would have found three other occurrences in the Sermon that I did not include in my list which are not meta-comments: Matt 5:22, 28, and 34. In these verses ‘I say to you’ is required, and does not function as an optional attention-getting device. The phrase is required to indicate that Jesus is switching from what the ancients said to what he says. A meta-comment, by definition, is where someone stops saying what they are saying, and starts talking about what they are going to say. Don’t worry, all of the meta-comments in the entire New Testament are identified for you using symbols in the text, like this in Matt 5:26.

Lexham High Definition New Testament

Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament

The symbol that looks like a speech balloon denotes the beginning and ending of meta-comments, while the explanation point identifies attention-getting devices.

If you are interested in learning more about other devices that are included in these new Lexham resources, read the previous blog posts listed below.

If you haven’t yet placed your order, don’t miss out while it’s still available at the discounted Pre-Pub pricing.

Does Logos Really Save You Time?

| Wed, April 2, 2008 | Misc.

It depends on the meaning of “save.”

Time is very important to us in our busy world. Most of us feel like we never have enough of it. There are so many good and important things vying for our time. That’s why we in the marketing department like to stress how much time Logos can save you. Pastors can greatly reduce the amount of time they spend preparing sermons by not having to (1) pull print books off shelves, (2) look up references in hard-to-read indexes, (3) turn pages by hand, and (4) type out things they want to quote. By running the Passage Guide and the Exegetical Guide, they have instant access to a wealth of information at the click of a mouse.

But I wonder how it really works in the real world. Do pastors who used to spend 15 hours a week doing sermon prep with paper books now spend only 7 or 8 hours with Logos? Do they “save” time in the sense of spending less than they used to?

I was talking with a pastor recently who just got Scholar’s Library: Gold, our biggest collection of resources. After he finished installing it and started exploring all the features and books, his wife began to wonder what to think of his new toy—I mean, tool. Would she now have even less time to spend with her husband? I tried to reassure her that Logos would in theory give her husband more time to spend with her, not less.

The pastor replied to me later in an email—half joking, I think—that instead of taking half the time, his sermons might actually take him twice as long to prepare, considering how much fun he was having digging into such a huge library of resources!

While it’s true that Logos greatly reduces the amount of time it takes to perform certain Bible study tasks, it’s possible that you may find yourself, like this pastor, enjoying your sermon prep so much that instead of spending less time, you’re actually spending as much time or more—and turning out a better product. Now, to be sure, Logos is still helping you “save” time, even if you do end up spending more of it than you used it. How so? With Logos you can be far more productive. Your time is better spent because less of it is wasted. And less wasted time means more time saved.

Whether you’re spending more or less time than you used to spend, the biggest benefit of Logos is how it dramatically improves your efficiency and quality of study. So in either sense, Logos does really save you time by enabling you to get more done—in whatever length of time you choose to spend—than you could with your print library.

I’m curious to hear from our pastors. Which category do you generally fall into? Do you find yourself spending less time now that you use Logos? Or do you just prepare a better sermon in the same block of time?

Libronix for Lutherans

| Tue, April 1, 2008 | Products

We strive to provide a broad spectrum of digital Christian resources and not just books that will be of interest to a certain group of people. Average Christians, pastors, and scholars from a wide range of denominations will all find a large number of relevant and useful titles.

There are certainly categories where we can improve, so we’re always glad to hear from our users and find out what you’d like to see more of. When it’s clear that there is sufficient interest and publishers are willing to work with us, we do our best to make those titles available. Send your emails to suggest@logos.com, and let us know what we’re missing. We’re listening.

Works of Martin Luther

One particular group that we have a very nice collection of resources for is Lutherans. For starters there’s the massive 55 volume Luther’s Works on CD-ROM, an essential for not only Lutherans but for everyone who wants to study the history and theology of the Reformation. If 55 volumes is too overwhelming, you could begin with Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, his Commentary on Galatians, and Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings (which is part of the Augsburg Fortress Collection (18 titles))—and, if you know German, the Luther Bibel (1545) and the Luther Bibel (1912).

Concordia Electronic Theological Library

Another tremendous resource is the Concordia Electronic Theological Library—Complete Collection (also available in nine individual collections), which is packed with important literature like Melanchthon’s Loci Communes, Martin Chemnitz’ Examination of the Council of Trent, Pieper’s Christian Dogmatics, and many others. It also contains the Tappert edition of the Book of Concord, but the new edition of the Book of Concord, which is edited by Robert Kolb and Timothy Wengert, is also available as a separate product.

Northwestern Publishing House Electronic Library

There’s also a great new collection of resources from Northwestern Publishing House. The Northwestern Publishing House Electronic Library (CD-ROM) contains the 41 volumes of the popular The People’s Bible series; the Bente edition of the Lutheran confessions with the complete Latin, German, and English texts and their historical introductions; 40 volumes of Wisconsin Lutheran Quarterly (1950-89); 11 volumes of sermon studies; and the Franzmann Bible History Commentary on the Old and New Testaments.

Lenski’s Commentary on the New Testament

And last but not least is Lenski’s Commentary on the New Testament (12 volumes), which is now on Pre-Pub. Users of a variety of denominational backgrounds have been asking for Lenski for years. It’s great to finally make it available. Interest in Lenski was clear by how quickly it reached 100% of the pre-orders needed to send it into production. It’s been up for only a few days, and it’s already hit the mark!

If we are weak in an area of particular interest to you, keep sending in those suggestions and show your support for the kinds of resources you’d like to see more of by helping them make it through the Pre-Pub process.

Merge Your Libronix Accounts

| Mon, March 31, 2008 | Misc.

I regularly come across people in our database who have two or more Libronix accounts. There are several reasons this could happen. Some pastors have two accounts: (1) a personal Libronix account that belongs to them and (2) a church Libronix account that belongs to the church and will stay with the church when they leave. In situations like these, the two accounts have to stay separate since they belong to two different parties.

But often a single owner will have two or more accounts. Most of the time this happens when an existing user installs a new collection for Libronix on a new computer and creates a new account instead of entering his old one. Perhaps he can’t remember what his Libronix Customer ID is and doesn’t know how to locate it, or maybe he doesn’t know that products created by third party publishers, like the Theological Journal Library, can be seamlessly integrated with all of his Logos Bible Software. As a result, his Libronix digital library is spread across two licenses and two computers.

One of the benefits to the Libronix Digital Library System is that you can add books and collections from a number of different publishers right into a single, integrated platform. Unintentionally setting up multiple accounts defeats the purpose of a unified library. If you have accidentally created multiple accounts and don’t have access to all of your books on the same license, please contact our customer service department by phone (800-875-6467) or by email (customerservice@logos.com). They would be happy to merge your accounts into a single one so you can take advantage of the benefits of having everything searchable and accessible in one place.

Update: Please don’t contact customer service unless you (1) know that you have more than one Libronix account (and shouldn’t) or (2) are pretty sure you might have more than one account because not all of your books are showing up as unlocked even after synchronizing your licenses several times. I realize it would be nice to find out that you have two licenses and didn’t even know it, but that is probably not the case. :)

The Works of Jonathan Edwards on Pre-Pub!

| Fri, March 28, 2008 | Products

Jonathan Edwards’ (1703–1758) massive importance as a theologian, pastor, and philosopher is hard to overstate. More than 250 years after his death (he died of smallpox on March 22, 1758) he is still the subject of an enormous amount of theological literature. The bibliography of resources below speaks volumes about his ongoing—and even growing—influence.

Soon you will be able to have access to Edwards’ most important writings in your Libronix Digital Library System. The Logos edition is based on the standard 1834 edition that was reprinted by Banner of Truth and Hendrickson, both of which are still in print.

When we put Edwards up on Pre-Pub a few days ago, someone in our newsgroups asked if we’d be including Henry Rogers’ "Essay on the Genius and Writings of Jonathan Edwards," which was added to the beginning of the Hendrickson edition to set it apart from the Banner of Truth edition.

I’ve been waiting for this one for a while too! Just a few days ago I was lamenting the fact Logos hasn’t offered it yet, so this is a pleasant surprise!

. . .

One thing I’d like to point out, I have the Hendrickson edition and there’s an essay called "Essay on the Genius and Writings of Jonathan Edwards" that takes up about 60 pages that doesn’t seem to be included in the forthcoming Logos edition. Will that be included?

Regardless, thanks for finally offering this one!!!

—Greg

Since we always like to provide you with the biggest and best editions possible, adding this essay was an easy decision. So make sure to thank Greg for suggesting it and helping us hunt down a copy of the essay. And remember, it pays to give us suggestions like these.

Head over to the product page to put in your pre-order for The Works of Jonathan Edwards (2 volumes).

[Read more…]

Waiting for the Next Shoe to Drop, Part 2

| Thu, March 27, 2008 | Products

Today’s guest post is from Dr. Steve Runge, a scholar-in-residence at Logos Bible Software, whose work focuses on the discourse grammar of Hebrew and Greek.

Logos has just posted a Pre-Pub for a whole new kind of Bible study tool—the Lexham High Definition New Testament and the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament. Over the last few weeks I have described a few of the concepts that are included in these resources:

This post is a follow up to tell you about another strategy that the New Testament writers used to create point-counterpoint sets. This device allows the writer to highlight important connections that they did not want us to miss. In the first post, I talked about how words like ‘while’ can be used to create anticipation that ‘another shoe’ is going to drop. Here is the example again, just to refresh your memory. Notice the difference that adding the italicized word makes regarding your expectations about what might follow:

  1. “I have really appreciated your work over the last few months . . .”

    versus . . .

  2. “While I have really appreciated your work over the last few months . . .”

    or . . .

  3. “I have appreciated most of your work over the last few months . . .”

In this post, I am going to tell you how negative statements can be used to create the same kind of effect that something more is coming, ‘another shoe’ so to speak. When I was growing up, I remember being told not just what I was supposed to do, but also what I was not supposed to do. Think about the following sentences.

  1. Get up and help.
  2. Don’t sit there. Get up and help.
  3. Don’t just sit there; instead, get up and help.

When I read these words, I hear my mom’s voice in my head. I could tell how frustrated she was by which option she used. Option 1 communicates what she wanted me to do, but without much force. Option 2 has a bit more oomph (read ‘frustration’), a bit more zing. Telling me what not to do does two things. First, it makes me wonder what I am supposed to do, if I am not supposed to ‘sit there’. Second, the negative statement provides a backdrop against which to contrast the positive statement. Option 2 sounds sharper because the contrast between the negative and the positive is sharper. Finally there is option 3, which adds some extra words (‘just’ and ‘instead’) that really forces me to link these two statements together in ways that option 2 just implied.

We make decisions like this all the time when we are speaking, but not by stopping and thinking “Hmm, should I create a counterpoint?” We just do what ‘fits best’ in the context, based on whatever it is that we want to communicate. My mom made decisions about whether to use option 1, 2, or 3, depending upon how much force she wanted to use (Believe me, I made option 3 look pretty attractive far too often).

The negative statement is called a ‘counterpoint’ ‹✗›, and serves as a contrast and a set-up for the ‘point’ ‹✓› that follows. In most cases, the ‘point is the more important of the two. In the Lexham High Definition New Testament and the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament, every point-counterpoint set that is explicitly signaled in the New Testament is marked right in the text, making sure you don’t miss any important connections in your Bible study or sermon preparation. It will look something like this:

‹✗ ‘Don’t just stand there ✗›,‹✓ DO something’. ✓›

The pairing of negative and positive statements is used all over the New Testament to create special connections called ‘counter points and points’. Let’s take a look at some NT examples.

In Matthew 4, Jesus is being tempted by Satan after having fasted for 40 days. Satan tempts Jesus to turn stones into bread to relieve his hunger. Jesus responds in v. 4:

ὁ δὲ ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν Γέγραπται ‹✗ Οὐκ ἐπ ̓ ἄρτῳ μόνῳ ζήσεται ὁ ἄνθρωπος ✗› ἀλλ ̓ ‹✓ ἐπὶ παντὶ ῥήματι ἐκπορευομένῳ διὰ στόματος θεοῦ ✓› But he answered, • “It is written, ‹✗ “‘Man shall not live by bread alone, ✗› but ‹✓ by every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” ✓›

This is a quote from Deuteronomy 8:3. Notice that is says what you shall not live on before telling you what you shall live on. Stating ‘what not to do’ is a powerful way of both creating an expectation that more is coming, as well as setting up a contrast with what follows. Not every negative statement creates a counterpoint, but the Lexham High Definition New Testament and the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament shows you where they do. Going back to Matt 4:4, Jesus not only rejects what Satan had tempted him to live upon, but he also sets the stage for what he (and we) should live upon—the Word of God.

In Romans 1:32, Paul creates a powerful point-counterpoint set using a ‘not only . . . but also’ framework.

οἵτινες τὸ δικαίωμα τοῦ θεοῦ ἐπιγνόντες ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες ἄξιοι θανάτου εἰσίν, ‹✗ οὐ μόνον αὐτὰ ποιοῦσιν ✗› ἀλλὰ ‹✓ καὶ συνευδοκοῦσιν τοῖς πράσσουσιν. ✓› Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, ‹✗ they not only do them ✗› but ‹✓• give approval to those who practice them. ✓›

It is bad enough that those who know God’s decrees are not obeying them, but it is actually far worse. Not only do they do them, but they also/even give approval to others who do them. The bullet (•) at the beginning of the ‘point’ in English is the ‘also/even’ that I added in my translation. This Greek word makes the contrast even sharper than just the negative/positive order. It would have been much easier for Paul to just state that ‘they give approval to those who . . . .’ Providing the negative first followed by the positive really adds some zing to the force of the statement, which is strengthened even more by the ‘not only . . . but also’ structure. The ESV did not maintain the ‘also’ connection that is there in Greek. The use of ‘also/even’ to strengthen connections of one of the special devices that is annotated in the Lexham Discourse Greek New Testament (called ‘thematic addition’), but is not included in the HDNT.

There is a whole series of point-counterpoint sets in Ephesians 5:15-18 that create the same kind of contrasting connections as in the other examples we have looked at.

Βλέπετε οὖν ἀκριβῶς πῶς περιπατεῖτε ‹✗ μὴ ὡς ἄσοφοι ✗› ἀλλʼ ‹✓ ὡς σοφοί, ✓› 16 ἐξαγοραζόμενοι τὸν καιρόν, ὅτι αἱ ἡμέραι πονηραί εἰσιν. 17 διὰ τοῦτο ‹✗ μὴ γίνεσθε ἄφρονες, ✗› ἀλλὰ ‹✓ συνίετε τί τὸ θέλημα τοῦ κυρίου. ✓› 18 καὶ ‹✗ μὴ μεθύσκεσθε οἴνῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀσωτία, ✗› ἀλλὰ ‹✓ πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι, ✓› Look carefully then how you walk, ‹✗ not as unwise ✗› but ‹✓ as wise, ✓› 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore ‹✗ do not be foolish, ✗› but ‹✓ understand what the will of the Lord is. ✓› 18 And ‹✗ do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, ✗› but ‹✓ be filled with the Spirit, ✓›

Paul gives us a series of commands, and uses the counterpoints to sharpen the contrast between what we are not supposed to do and what we are supposed to do. Sharpening the contrast also helps to tighten the connection between these commands. Remember, he could have just as easily said, “walk wisely . . . understand the will of the Lord . . . be filled with the Spirit.” Leaving out the counterpoints would have been easier, but would also have removed much of the zing and punch that these commands have in their current form.

Point-counterpoint sets are just one of more than 15 different devices included in the HDNT, and of more than 35 that are found in the LDGNT. Every place a point-counterpoint set is clearly marked in Greek, it is annotated in the resources using the ‹✗ counterpoint ✗› ‹✓point ✓› symbols. If you are interested in learning about other devices that are included in these resources, check out my previous blog posts.

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